Georgia Tech’s Daniel Miller and Kammeon Holsey were too tall and too much for Delaware State in 70-52 win on Monday night at Gwinnett Arena.
Kammeon Holsey, a 6-foot-8 forward, scored a career-high 21 points and Daniel Miller, a 6-11 center, matched a career high with 14 more to lead the Yellow Jackets to their second win in as many games. Miller added a career-high 15 rebounds for his first career double-double. Four Tech players scored in double figures.
“The good thing is they are both sophomores; the bad thing is I’m going to demand that type of production every game, right Kam?” Tech coach Brian Gregory asked of his forward, who was standing in the back of the room.
“Yes, coach,” Holsey answered.
Delaware State offered little defense, with a pair of 6-7 players unable to stop the Jackets’ big men when they got the ball close to the basket. When the Hornets tried various zone defenses, Miller was productive feeding the ball out of the low or high post, collecting a career-high six assists, all in the first half.
“I guess the guards are noticing if they get it inside it opens the shots for them,” Miller said. “They are liking it, so they keep doing it.”
As the Hornets started to tire, Holsey was effective slashing down the free-throw lane or across the baseline, at one time scoring 10 of the team’s 12 points during a run in the second half.
Gregory wants to see Holsey and Miller active on the offensive end, with one creating space for the other. As Miller slid to the high post or across the lane against Delaware State, Holsey flashed to the basket, where Miller found him three times in the first half for layups.
“I fed off Daniel,” Holsey said. “I fed off his play.”
It was a much different performance at the offensive end from the two players than they offered last year, when Miller was used mostly for defense and screens and Holsey didn’t have an established role.
The two committed themselves this past summer to conditioning and working on their games, knowing that Gregory planned on incorporating them into the offense.
“It’s just a whole different story from last year,” Holsey said.
Led by Holsey, who hit 9 of his 10 field-goal attempts, the Yellow Jackets carried over their hot shooting from their season-opening victory over Florida A&M. After hitting 53.8 percent of their attempts in the 92-59 victory over the Rattlers, the Jackets shot 52.7 percent against the Hornets. It’s the first time Tech has shot better than 50 percent in consecutive games since the 2009-10 season, when they did it against Wake Forest and Kentucky State in late January.
With their size difference, the Yellow Jackets outrebounded Delaware State 40-21, including 16-8 on the offensive end. The Hornets hit just 41.5 percent of their field goals, and 25 percent of their 3-pointers.
“If right now our focus is to continue to build our identity, we are taking steps in creating that on defensive end and the glass,” Gregory said. “I thought our halfcourt defense was exceptional tonight; we are getting better at that.”
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